RISE - Part Three (The RISE Series Book 3) (6 page)

I smile as I watch him walk to his dresser. He pushes things aside before he pulls out a condom wrapper. His eyes meet mine as he slowly rips it open.

"Put it on for me." He walks towards the bed, the unwrapped condom in his hand. "Do it for me."

"I've..." I've never done that," I stammer. "I don't know how."

"You've watched me." He dips his chin towards his cock. "I've seen you watching me. Put it on."

I lean forward to wrap my hand around him. I slowly and carefully slide the condom on, being careful to not puncture the tip.

"I love the way you make me feel." He leans down to cup my chin in his palm. "I've never felt like this with anyone before."

I reach up to grab his shoulders as I pull him down and into my arms.

***

"C
an I see you again tomorrow night?"

I look to where he's still tangled beneath the sheet on his bed. He'd fucked me hard. It was so hard that I came quickly. That had only spurred him on.

He'd flipped me over before he entered me fully in one swift plunge. I'd fallen forward and as he took me with long, slow strokes, he'd whispered into the air that he wanted me to touch myself.

I had.

I'd reached between my legs to circle my swollen bud with my finger.

His thrusts increased and as we both neared the edge of our release, he'd pulled out before he rammed himself into me so hard that tears filled my eyes and I cried out.

"I'm not sure," I say honestly. "I may have a meeting."

"I'm leaving the day after tomorrow." He sits up, struggling to wrap his torso in one of the sheets. "I want to see you before that."

I laugh as I watch him mutter a few choice curse words before he pushes the bed linens aside and stands up, completely nude.

"Will you look like that when I see you?"

"Like this?" he asks as he holds his hands out in front of his semi-erect cock. "You like me best when I'm naked, is that it?"

I like him best at any moment. "I'll call you tomorrow and we can find a time to meet."

"You can stay with me tonight?" He waves his hand over the bed. "You can fall asleep right here in my arms."

It's so tempting but I have work to do before I see Gabriel and I want to prepare myself for the tentative dinner I have planned with Gianna tomorrow night.

"I just want to listen to you fall asleep, Tess." His hands leap to his chest. "I'll let you go first thing in the morning."

I drop my purse on the floor. "Can you help me out of my dress?"

––––––––

"A
private investigator your father's attorney hired contacted my mother. She wasn't prepared for that."

Your mother was sleeping with my father. I sure as hell wasn't prepared for that, Mr. Foster.

"Gianna was very forthcoming," I say sweetly. "She's been a big help."

"Is that so?" He cocks both brows. "She wasn't comfortable sharing the details of her discussion with the investigator with me. I assumed that was because she didn't have much to offer."

"On the contrary," I stop myself before I say it but it's so close to the surface that it just comes spilling out of my mouth. "Apparently she has a lot to offer."

"Was she able to offer anything to help your father?"

I'm going to need a shower after this discussion. I never once imagined my parents behind closed doors. I don't want to conjure up a mental image of my father and Gianna.

"I believe so." I open my tablet. "I was hoping we could go over some of the finer details for the pop-up shop event."

Gabriel adjusts the cuff link on his left wrist, taking time to straighten it completely. "If your attention needs to be on your father's legal situation, Tess, I have a replacement in mind."

It's hard not to take that personally. I can't though. The man is only looking out for his company's best interests. I'm doing the same for mine, which is why I’m here, and not in Boston helping to plan the celebratory party for my father's release tomorrow. 

"You have my full attention, Mr. Foster." I slide my finger across my tablet's screen. "I'd like to start with the list of models I've hired for the event."

His eyes fall to where my finger is perched. "Very well, then. Let's get started."

***

"F
rederick Beckett would like to see you."

"Me?" I touch my left ear wondering if I misheard what Everett just said to me. "Landon's father wants to see me?"

"His attorney called me this morning." He shifts on the small chair in the crowded café we're sitting in.

He'd called just as I was leaving Gabriel's office. He told me that he had something to talk about that was better discussed face-to-face. Since I haven't spoken to anyone in my family yet today about my father's upcoming arraignment hearing tomorrow, I'd panicked.

When I asked him point blank about my father, he had assured me that everything was on track. He didn’t anticipate any hiccups. He simply wanted to go over something with me in person before he left for Boston in the morning.

"Why would he want to see me?"

"I can think of any number of reasons," he says calmly. "Your lives have intersected on many levels, Tess."

"Am I allowed to talk to him?" It's a genuine question. I've thought about going to see him myself more than once. It's never been about lashing out at him over what happened with my father, or Landon. My pull towards him has always been to understand more about the man who single handily ruined so many people's lives only to return on a whim.

"I don't see why not." He glances at the silver wristwatch on his arm. "Do you want me to arrange that for you?"

I answer before I have time to consider the far reaching consequences of what I'm agreeing to. "Yes. I want to see him. Make it happen."

––––––––

"I
thought you'd bring Landon with you." My father pats my shoulder. "I want to meet him."

I feared when my father walked into his favorite pub in Boston with a grin on his face from ear-to-ear that it would disappear as soon as someone brought up Landon's name.

To avoid it, I'd gathered my siblings and my mother together near the bar before he arrived. I'd prefaced my confession with tender words about how cherished and adored I feel when I'm around Landon. I explained that he's a pilot and has only been kind and considerate to me.

I knew that the words of congratulations would vanish when I told them his last name. Both of my brothers had walked off in a huff, their hands flying in the air along with harsh words about my loyalties. My sister hadn't said anything before she turned towards the bar, ordering herself a shot of whiskey.

My mother had been the only one who pulled me into her arms and away from the fray. Her words about fate and circumstance comforted me and as she told me to follow my heart, I thought about her own heart and how it had brought her out of her shell and back into my father's life.

I don't know enough about his relationship with Gianna to share it with anyone, including my mom. I stood silently, letting her embrace fuel me enough that I stayed to celebrate with my dad.

"Is he working?" His eyes dart past me to the crowded pub.

"He has to fly tomorrow," I stop myself when I realize I have no idea where Landon is going. In the excitement of my father's release, I hadn't asked.

His hands grasp mine, his thumbs running over my palms. "He's not staying away because of what his old man did, is he? I don't place blame on the son for his father's sins."

"No," I say assuredly. "He's not like that. If he could have been here, he would have."

"I'll meet him soon then." He nods his chin towards the bar where both my brothers are sitting, each nursing their second beer of the day. "I know they're not happy about it, Tess."

I look over at them. They're the same two boys I grew up with. The only difference now is that they have families of their own to think about. Their reactions are based solely on that. They don't want anything threatening our family again and to them, Landon and his father compromise a single entity based on their shared last name.

"They don't know him."

My dad squeezes my hands. "They don't live your life. You make your own choices. No one can tell you who to love. Only your heart can do that."

I know that logically he's right and my heart does want to love Landon. The only thing holding me back is the nagging feeling that there's much more to know about the connection between my father and Frederick. They may never have met but for some reason, Landon's father had documents, dating back more than a decade, with my father's signature on them.

***

"I
would have invited you to come along but I know you have your hands full there."

I rest my head on the pillows on my bed. It's just after dawn in New York. I'd sent Landon a text message last night wishing him peaceful dreams. He'd responded almost immediately that he was in Greece again. He'd had to trade schedules with another pilot when he raced back to New York after my father's arrest. He wanted to repay the debt quickly, so he'd taken the chance when it was offered to him.

"I have a lot going on," I admit. "I saw my father yesterday after he was released."

There's a slight pause on the other end. It's not enough for me to question, but I wonder, almost immediately if he's thinking about Frederick. "How's your dad, Tess?"

"I think he's okay." I temper my reaction because I don't want to share that he actually called me first thing this morning before Landon did. My father is anxious to talk more about his past. He wants me to fully understand everything about his actions when he signed those insurance documents with the full knowledge of the risks involved.

"You think he's okay?" he parrots back, his tone slightly amused. "You've been talking to him, haven't you? Or does he have a problem with me? Is he angry about our relationship?"

There are so many questions that I struggle with the decision about which one to answer first. "My father is fine with us."

"He's fine with it?"

The trepidation in his voice is unmistakable. I'm not surprised. My father may well be the only man who has no issue with his daughter dating the son of a man he shares a criminal past with. Landon doesn't understand my father though. His isn't exactly the epitome of responsible parenting.

"I haven't discussed our relationship in depth with him," I shoot back, mildly irritated by his reluctance to accept my father's reaction. "My dad just wants me to be happy."

I can hear him moving and what sounds like leather shifting beneath his weight. "Are you at your hotel?"

"No." His tone is clipped. "I'm at a restaurant. I'm meeting some of the crew here for lunch."

A small bite of envy flows through me. I know he's on a work trip but I wish he was here with me. I want to talk to him about his father's invitation to meet with him and about my father's relationship with Gianna.

Discussing either of those things over the phone isn't my first choice, but I don't know that I can wait. I'm scheduled to call Everett at ten this morning about the meeting with Frederick and what time that will happen. Gianna bailed on our dinner the other night under the excuse of a headache. She wants to meet later today.

"I need to run, Tess." His voice softens. "I'll call you tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning, my time?" I ask. "Or your time?"

I hear muffled voices as he speaks to someone there. "New York time. I miss you."

With that the call ends and takes with it any chance I may have had to tell him about the secrets I don't want to keep.

––––––––

"Y
ou look nothing like your father." His voice is deeper than I remember it.

I arch a brow. "You're not nearly as handsome as your son."

That draws a faint smile.

"Actually," I continue. "Both your sons are much better looking than you. They must resemble their mother."

"Ah," he raises his index finger in the air. "You have yet to meet Anja. You're lucky."

I can tell that he's goading me. Our game of cat and mouse began before Frederick Beckett took a seat across from me.

He was lead into the prisoner's hall with seven other inmates. Their handcuffs were removed one-by-one, with Frederick being the last. His eyes had been trained on my face the entire time. I hadn’t stood when he approached the table I'm sitting at. I didn't extend my hand in greeting. I sat stoically waiting for him to tell me why he requested this meeting.

I was both nervous and grateful when Everett told me that Frederick wanted to see me right away.  I'd sat in the clearance area for more than two hours while the guard there checked over my documents. She wanted to know why I was visiting the prisoner and I was honest.

I told her that he was my boyfriend's father. It had been enough to grant me the permission I needed to enter the crowded hall so I could take another seat to wait an additional hour.

"I thought you might bring my son with you." He tilts his head to the right to look over my shoulder. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He wants nothing to do with you." I tilt my head as well to block his field of vision. "I don't think he'll ever come to see you."

His lips purse together. "Time has a way of healing. Landon will find it in his heart to forgive me."

The arrogance oozing from every single one of his pores is nauseating. The man upended the lives of both of his sons and his wife and it doesn't seem to faze him.

"You came to see me." He claps his hands together. "I had a feeling that if I whistled, you'd run."

I bite my bottom lip to stave off the urge to tell him to go to hell. He wants that from me. It's how he controls his world. He pushes, others respond, and when it all becomes too much, he's the one who runs.

"I'll never be able to run as fast, or as far, as you. Wait. I meant swim."

His eyes narrow. "You're a spitfire. I can see the attraction. My son may have chosen wisely after all."

I can literally feel my skin crawling at the mention of Landon being his son. I don't understand how he's cut from the same cloth as this. I haven't spent five minutes with the man and it's already too long. "Why am I here?"